TMZSports.com
Sorry, fight fans, don’t expect Francis Ngannou to share the ring with Jake Paul … ’cause The Predator tells TMZ Sports that scrap will never happen!
We caught up with the former UFC heavyweight champion following the wildly successful Netflix boxing event that saw 60 million households tune in for Paul’s unanimous decision win over Mike Tyson — and we asked him about his tweet, saying he’d slap El Gallo the next time he saw Jake.
With fans pumped at the prospect of a Paul and Ngannou fight, we had to see if there was a chance. Unfortunately, the 38-year-old wasn’t having it, saying the prospect of them sharing the ring is straight up disrespectful.
“Come on, like, respect me a little bit,” Francis said, totally shooting down the idea.
Despite the fact they won’t be fighting, Ngannou has respect for what Paul, who is also signed to PFL (like Francis), is doing to entertain fight fans.
“If this is not entertainment, I do not know what you are looking for,” he said.
“It was entertaining, whether you like it or not. There was a curiosity to see Mike Tyson at this age; can he stand? Can he, can he? And they did entertain.”
While Paul doesn’t entice him, the idea of Deontay Wilder might. Of course, the former heavyweight champ recently said he was interested in Ngannou, with the Bronze Bomber telling us he wants to begin negotiations.
Ngannou, however, is focused on MMA, saying, “I will wait a couple of months to see if the PFL will pull something up.”
“If not, I will see if there is something in boxing either. But it’s not like it’s top in my mind.”
Bottom line, Jake, no. Deontay, maybe.